Surviving as a Writer in the British Empire - Chapter 180

< Hunters (1) >

“On a huge passenger ship. I could only see the endless, calm dark blue Caribbean Sea.

All that is visible is the bright blue horizon. Although it looked similar everywhere, Vincent could somehow tell.

It’s here.

The place where lawyer Vincent died and Vincent, the youngest of the Duke of Villiers, was conceived.

“It took 30 years.”

Burning everything, acquiring everything, and then putting everything down again.

No longer as Archduke Villiers, but as Chairman of the VV Company.

Vincent slowly took out a bottle of cheap third-grade ale from his pocket, opened the lid, and turned it over.

“Now sleep comfortably.”

I turned my head and looked at the opposite horizon. The sun was rising so incandescent that it looked white.

The time of the dead has disappeared into oblivion.

Now is the time for the living.

It was time to return to a new beginning.

Buuuuu─.

The sound of a ship approaching the port tickled my ears.

END」

Richard Bentley, Jr., president of Bentley Publishing, quietly held back tears as he looked at the final manuscript of “Vincent Villiers.”

Vincent defeated Marshal Gregory Villiers and proudly assumed the position of successor.

And as the heir, he proudly subdued the elders of the Villiers family one by one, and eventually became the head of the family.

All of the family’s wealth was transferred to the VV company in the United States, the remaining family was handed over to an idiot cousin, and a new start was made on the American continent with the princess who had abandoned her right to succeed to the throne.

The sight of Vincent from his previous life holding his own funeral at the dawn of the Caribbean was a neat and clear ending comparable to that of < The Count of Monte Cristo>…

“I think so. Writer.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“of course. “It may be a bit conventional, but I am confident that it is a touching ending that will go down in history!!”

No, I think you’re using too much gold lacquer…

I scratched my forehead with an embarrassed smile.

Meanwhile, I looked into Mr. Bentley’s eyes. Two and a half pounds and three pounds and a half shaking from side to side can be heard up to here.

Well, it’s not that I don’t understand.

These days, I’ve been doing more work with the Writers’ Union and Strand Magazine than with Mr. Bentley. From the < Sherlock Holmes> comics to the response to < Arsene Lupine>.

No matter how planned it may have been, the completion of < Vincent Villiers> cannot help but be met with anxiety.

It’s not for nothing that comics magazines of the past, or, let’s say here, the future, continued and prolonged the serialization of popular works.

And in fact, as soon as those long-running works ended, a ghostly darkness came.

Anyway, in fact, it is not just the publisher’s job. Because it comes as a big burden to the writer as well.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we can continue to increase the number of works that have already exhausted all that can be written. That’s even more painful for the writer.

Should I say that writing is a process of squeezing out excess moisture and becoming work?

Anyway, fortunately for me, I didn’t have to worry about either side.

So the story that follows will be very simple.

I looked at Mr. Bentley, who had a complicated expression on his face, and smiled.

“Then, let’s talk about your next project.”

“Are you doing the next work…, writer!?”

“Well, there’s no need to rest or anything like that.”

Normally, I would have to wait a little longer after completing it, but it’s not a big need for me.

Still, compared to the time when I originally serialized web novels every day, the schedule is like heaven. Thanks to that, I can touch on various miscellaneous things.

More than anything, that gap period has both advantages and disadvantages.

It is an important process because it allows you to organize your thoughts while recovering your physical strength, but on the other hand, if you stop writing, you may end up regressing.

It’s not for nothing that there are writers who take a long break and never come back…

Anyway, both were of little importance to me.

This is because countless inspirations arise from new environments and new backgrounds.

Above all, this time the purpose was also clear.

‘A work that Mary might want to see.’

Thanks to this solid topic, it took less time to write than before and was written quickly.

It’s literally the ‘only’ article I’ve read.

“Writer, this is…!”

“It’s been a while since I thought I’d go back to the basics.”

I shrugged my shoulders and said.

“fantasy. So to speak, um…hunter, shall we say?”

***

The wind blew over the boy’s bright yellow hair. It was a unique sea breeze, thick with salt.

Eleven and four hours ago, the boy boarded a large passenger ship that was unbecoming of a small port town.

Of course, I didn’t have any money, but instead, there was a man who said he was my father’s friend and gave me a second-class ticket. And the man also gave some additional, malicious advice.

‘As far as I know, it’s probably the best ship you can be on. Just like this, this ship will only land at the next port. Then I’ve roughly done everything I could. Well, rest assured. At least you won’t starve or freeze to death, and as long as you don’t fall asleep while washing your face, you’ll most likely not drown.’

“Ji!”

The boy shouted loudly, spitting out the hair that was in his mouth.

The meal was certainly delicious and the heating was excellent… but now the boy was experiencing the risk of starvation, death, and drowning all at the same time.

Because the damn storm broke the ship in two.

‘Damn, I thought something was strange.’

They say you shouldn’t eat something for free. There was nothing wrong with what his father said.

Even when I heard it roughly as it was sinking, it seemed like this ship was a ‘slave trading ship’.

For some reason, I felt like I was only choosing a rough route…

‘Ha, you really must be unlucky…’

In the midst of all this, there was no way to explain the fact that I was still able to hold on to the plank, which seemed to slip away if I lost even the slightest strength, other than the amazing energy that comes from the desire to survive.

“Whoop, whoop.”

My fingertips are becoming increasingly numb.

How long has it already been? day? Two days? I don’t want to hear that only a few hours have passed. My mouth was already dry and I was hungry.

It’s strange. The fact that I drank so much sea water while sinking earlier made me thirsty.

“shit······.”

Consciousness becomes increasingly blurred. Then, holes began to appear in his clear desire for survival.

It’s hard, you probably want to rest too… right? There is absolutely no hope, right? Who do you think will come to a place like this to help?

furthermore.

Even if I lived anyway─

“Fuck it, shut up!”

The boy shouted harshly. The boy’s fist slammed into the board. The screams mixed with the sound were roaring towards the storm.

“I will survive! I’m going to buy it! I won’t die! Damn it, what happens to me if I die from something like this!! That means I won’t die!!”

Every time I spoke a word, salt water and rain hit my uvula.

But the more it happened, the sharper and more explosive the boy’s screams became.

The voice was trembling, but there was something solid in it.

If expressed in a positive way, it could be called courage or spirit, and if expressed negatively, it could be described as madness, but it was something that converged into a will that was even bloody.

And is it thanks to that will? Something caught the boy’s eyes.

It could have been seen simply because he raised his head, but the boy saw it anyway, amidst the rain, dark clouds, and salty wind that did not allow an inch ahead.

‘light?’

What came to the boy’s mind was a lighthouse.

However, I know that no matter how much lighthouses provide great help to lost ships or drifters, they are not the type to come directly to help.

The next thing that came to mind was a boat. The thought of being swept away sent a chill down my spine.

What do we do? Should I at least move my arms and legs to avoid it? That was the moment I thought about it.

After going through the storm, the source of light approached. The boy had to open his eyes wide.

It is─.

“omg!!”

The boy raised his head and looked around.

Did I see some kind of illusion? The plank tilted for a moment, but fortunately, thanks to its small size, it did not tip over.

The sea I looked around was calm, as if a storm had passed.

It was so quiet that only the sound of spray splashing under the palms of his hands on the plank tickled his ears.

“Am I alive?”

What about that storm just now? No, did I fall asleep? If he was asleep, how on earth did he survive?

I was so confused that I felt dizzy.

However, that thought did not last long.

─Krrrralara!!

“······Ugh!!”

Underneath the plank, something rose from the sea. The boy, who rose into the sky in an instant, realized what it was.

‘Kraken…!’

That was it.

A huge monster that appeared with a storm and cruelly tore apart the slave trade ship carrying him.

The thing that had tens or hundreds of tentacles and legs writhing around had now come all the way to this place in an attempt to devour the boy.

with a plop!!

“Ugh!!”

Maybe it was because I fell from a high place, but my body hurt even though I fell into the water.

But there was no time for that. Considering the tentacles would reach out, I had to do something.

─Good luck!

“Ahh!!”

My body was submerged in the turbulent waters. I was out of breath.

‘No, damn it!’

In the water, the boy thought.

I survived that storm, but am I going to die here?

That couldn’t be possible.

He had a mission. I must not die here, and I must return alive, a mission more important than life!

However, the Kraken stretched out its leg as if it was none of its business and swung it several times towards the boy.

Maybe it’s because he’s so big, but even though he doesn’t fit, his body shakes randomly like a toy.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

And finally, the moment when the Kraken’s legs were about to approach him.

“Kyungkyung!”

‘······uh?’

Just before that, I cut it off and something popped out at my feet.

In the water, the boy opened his eyes wide.

A transparent body that looks as if the water itself has solidified.

It resembles a horse, but is much smaller, with a neat head and a mane that scatters like a spray of water.

Slippery lower body like a fish.

‘Ke, Kelpie?’

“Kyuyuk.”

It was a cryptid, not rare, but not common either.

This was especially true for this small and delicate form.

‘What are you doing, hurry and run away…!’

“Kkyungkyung?”

It was then. A bridge as large as the Kraken’s house attacked us again.

The boy unconsciously stretched out his hand to protect the kelpie.

But rather than being pushed away, the kelpie bit his finger and sucked it.

“Kyuuuuk!”

‘······What, what?!’

It was then.

‘uh······?!’

For a moment, a light as if I had seen it somewhere sparkled inside my body.

The baby kelpie in my arms disappeared.

And instead.

‘Is it easier to breathe?’

It was a strange feeling.

The water felt like air, or even more than that, like the body itself.

Like moving your fingers, like moving your legs. I was able to figure out for myself ‘how’ water that touches the surface of the body can be moved.

and.

─Sigh!!

As my legs stretched out, I quietly moved my arms.

Like a sharp knife, the water spreads out.

─Siigik!?

One of the Kraken’s dozens of legs was cut off.

done.

The boy thought.

I don’t know what it is, but if it’s this, I can survive.

and.

‘You can go back.’

First of all, it was time to make the squid into a meal.